Rollover crash claims life

Alcohol may have played part in early morning accident

Steamboat Springs  A 31-year-old Oak Creek man died early Monday after the vehicle he was driving flipped on County Road 14.

Steven Robert Lundt, a miner and mechanic for Twentymile Coal Co., died of internal and head trauma after he was ejected from his 1998 Chevrolet truck when it flipped end over end, said Colorado State Trooper Brad Keadle, who investigated the crash along with Trooper David McKee.

Lundt was traveling alone.

The accident occurred around 7 a.m. when a resident reported a truck had damaged a fence.

Lundt had worked at Twentymile Coal for five years.

"He was a good guy and well liked," said Ron Spangler, the company's human resources manager. "Today everyone was down. We are going to miss him."

Authorities believe speed was a factor in the crash.

Keadle said Lundt was traveling 63 mph in a 45 mph zone as he tried to navigate a curve at about milepost 1.

The southbound vehicle began skidding and went off the right side of the road.

The truck rolled onto its passenger side and then flipped end over end, Keadle said.

When the truck flipped, Lundt, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the truck.

"We think a seat belt would have made a difference," Keadle said. "He would not have been ejected."

The truck continued rolling and ended up on its wheels facing east.

Routt County Coroner Doug Allen pronounced Lundt dead at the scene. An autopsy and toxicology tests have been scheduled.

Keadle said there was an odor of alcohol at the site, but until troopers receive results of the toxicology tests they cannot determine if alcohol played a role in the wreck.

Keadle the results in the next couple of days.

Authorities believe Lundt was driving from Oak Creek to his home in the 23800 block of County Road 16.